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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · hide · drill · object · wax · pitcher · cell · calf

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wax — to grow
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. object — a thing
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — an aim
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chest — a box
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cell — in biology
  21. object — to protest
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com